Conveyer mechanism for furnaces and other apparatus



Dec. 17, 1946. J. FALLON 2,412,724

I QONVEYER MECHANISM FOR FURNACES AND OTHER APPARATUS Fild Dec. 28, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 2,412,724 ER APPARATUS J. FALLON Dec. 17, 1946.

CONVEYER MECHANISM FOR FURNACES AND 0TH Filed Dec. 28, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 l I I l I 1 I 1 1 I I I I iZ Zf-f 5 /0;

Dec. 17, 1946. V J. FALLON 2,412,724

CONVEYER MECHANISM FOR FURNACES AND OTHER APPARATUS Filed Dec. 28, 1944 4 SheetsS heet 4 Patented Dec. 17, 1946 CONVEYER MECHANISM FOR FURNACES AND OTHER APPARATUS John Fallon, Smethwick, England Application December 28, 1944, Serial No. 570,167

' In Great Britain June 27, 1944 Claims.

This invention has reference to improvements in and connected with conveyor mechanism for furnaces and other apparatus, and is more particularly applicable for the conveyance of goods through furnaces at elevated temperatures say between the range of 500 C. and 1200 C. when numerous dificulties and problems are experienced which are well recognized in the art.

The object of the present invention is to provide a roller platform or hearth for the support of the goods to be traversed through the furnace, the goods being say of an irregular size and character, to which it is desired to apply heat treatment conditions for a predetermined period during the traverse of such goods particularly through the hot zone of the furnace, which will avoid not only any possibility of damage to the goods themselves but will also provide a transmission mechanism which will not be subject to distortion or other defects arising from the subjection of the mechanism to such high temperature conditions within the furnace which would ordinarily involve marked difliculties in such transmission and conveyance.

The invention consists of a conveyor mechanism for furnaces and other apparatus, involving the combination of a roller platform with a reciprocal lifting and lowering beam mechanism, which will impart to the rollers an intermittent rotary feed motion, said rollers being supported upon bearings when in their lowest position, the feed motion being imparted to the rollers constituting the platform when the rollers are lifted free of their hearing support. I

The invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one means of carrying the invention into practice as applied to what may be termed a roller hearth furnace for effecting the intermittent conveyance of goods through the furnace at the desired speed.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation through a section of the furnace incorporating the essential features of the mechanism comprising the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the mechanism seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation through the same section of the furnace as that seen in Fig. 1, but illustrating the roller hearth conveyer mechanism in its raised position.

Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the mechanism in the position seen in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detailed View showing the means for rotatably and traversably mounting one of the flanged rollers forming the support for the lifting and lowering traversable beam which is associated with the roller hearth.

The furnace walls are constructed of a refractory material in the usual manner and the tunnel or chamber therethrough contains a roller hearth which is formed of a plurality of separate rollers a in parallel disposition in close proximity in a horizontal plane. These rollers are formed of nickel chrome steel having a high heat resistant characteristic, each roller having a projecting end a extending beyond collars 11. The projecting ends a are located within open-ended slots 12 formed longitudinally disposed channel brackets I; connected by bolts 0 to [the side walls of the furnace. The peripheries of the projecting ends a of the rollers normally rest in the arcuate bases of the open-ended slots b and are adapted [to be rotated within these slots when raised as will be hereinafter described. The pair of collars a forming a part of each roller a. are superposed above a. pair of longitudinally arranged beams d which extend through the length of the furnace chamber below the run of the series of rollers Ct, a slight gap normally existing between :the periphery of each collar and the upper edge of the beam as clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The beams 01 are mounted on flanged rollers e which rollers are rotatably and traversably mounted on a. slotted head cap I which is mounted on and forms the upper part of a plunger 9' adapted for ventical reciprocal motion within guide brackets h forming part of the framework of the furnace. The lower end of each plunger is pivotally connected by means of a link :i to the one arm of a counterweighted three-armed lever k, the counterweight being designated W. The third arm 7: of this lever has pin and slot or equivalent coupling with a shaft Z the axis of which is in parallel disposition to and disposed below the beam 02. Referring more panticularly to Fig. 5 of the drawlngs the head cap f is formed on its upper face with a horizontal bearing surface f on which the trunnions or integral spindles e of the flanged rollers e are adapted to rest and along which surface f they can traverse in order to provide a substantially frictionless mounting of the rollers e on the top of the plungers g. A top closure plate 1 is provided to prevent any jumping of the rollers off the surface f The lower edges of the sides and the base of each beam (1 are located within the annular flanges of the rollers 6 so as to maintain a track alignment.

The operation of the mechanism forming the essential feature of the present invention is as follows:

Referring first more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 which illustrate the mechanism in its normal non-traversing position when the work may be said to be mounted on the peripheries of the now static series of rollers a, it will be seen that there is no contact between the upper faces of the beams d and the peripheries of the collars a forming rigid or integral parts of the rollers a. When the desired interval of time permitted by the cam-controlled operating mechanism connected to the shafts Z and to the beams d has passed, the beams d and rollers a assume the contacting position seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the longi the beams and the cam controlled operating mechanism in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 4) with the result that an anti-clockwise rotation is imparted to the rollers a which results in the progression of the goods supported on the peripheries of these rollers through the furnace for a predetermined distance. The continued operation of the cam controlled mechanism then serves to lower the beams d and the supported rollers a until the rollers assume the position seen in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, when a longitudinal motion in a reverse direction as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2 is imparted to the beams and the shaft 1 after the beams have been lowered from contact with the peripheries of the collars a i. e. in the position seen in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. This cycle of intermittent lifting, progressing, lowering and return motion continues throughout the whole period of operation of the furnace. Thus the goods are intermittently traversed and progressed in predetermined steps through the furnace from the reception to the delivery end of the tunnel or chamber in which the heating or other treatment exists.

'The cam controlled mechanism for effecting a synchronized longitudinal motion of the shaft Z and of the pair of parallel beams dis of the character described and illustrated in the specification of the United States Patent No. 1,909,906,

It will be appreciated that the foregoing mechanism dispenses with the usual continuous or intermittent drive connected to each roller orsection of rollers forming the hearth of the furnace or other chamber, and that during the period when the rollers are being rotated they are lifted free of their normal static bearings or supports and thus the mechanical effort required to rotate the rollers in the forward or progressive feed direction is a minimum, and that during the major active period of the heat treatment of the goods upon the platform or hearth the rollers are resting on and are supported by the fixed bearings in the brackets as already described, and are thus restrained from distortion due to any elevated temperature conditions obtaining within the furnace.

' I claim:

1. A conveyer mechanism for furnaces and other apparatus, comprising in combination a roller hearth consisting of a series of parallel rollers in close proximity located in a horizontal plane, said rollers being supported within elongated slots formed in brackets secured to the side walls of the furnace chamber, a pair of parallel beams adapted for reciprocal and rising and fall- 7 ing motion said beams co-operating with the series of rollers forming the roller hearth of the furnace, anti-friction supporting means for the beams; said means being rotatablymounted on plungers, said plungers being connected to a rocking lever and linkage mechanism which serves to transmit and effect the required lifting and lowering motion of the beams and rollers.

2. A conveyer mechanism for furnaces and other apparatus, comprising in combination a roller hearth consisting of a series of parallel rollers in close proximity located in a horizontal plane, said rollers being supported within elonated slots formed in brackets secured to the side walls of the furnace chamber, a pair of parallel beams adapted for reciprocal and rising and falling motion said beams co-operating with the series of rollers forming the roller hearth of the furnace, anti-friction supporting means for the beams rotatably and traversably mounted on plungers, said plungers being pivotally connected through linkage and rocking levers to a recipro cally traversable shaft which traversing motion is imparted in synchrony with the traversable motion of the said beams from a power unit.

3. A conveyer mechanism for furnaces and other apparatus, comprising. in combination, a roller hearth consisting of .a series of parallel rollers in close proximity located in a horizontal plane, said rollers being supported within elongated slots formed in brackets secured to the side walls of the furnace chamber, a pair of parallel beams adapted for reciprocal and. rising and fallmg motion, said beams co-operating' with the series of rollers forming the roller hearth of the furnace, flanged roller supporting means for the beams rotatably and traversely mounted on plungers, said plungers being pivotally connected through linkage and rocking levers to a reciprosally traversable shaft to which traversing motion is imparted in synchrony with the traversablc. motion of the said beams from a power unit operating a rotatable cam to which said beams an shaft are linked. r

i. A conveyer mechanism forfurnaces comprising in combination a roller hearth formed as a series of parallel metallic rollers having a high heat resistant characteristic, said rollers being located in close proximity one to another in a horizontal plane, a pair of collars provided adjacent the ends of said rollers,'vertical1y slotted bearing brackets secured to the side walls of the furnace, a pair of longitudinally arranged parallel beams located below said collars and normally out of engagement therewith, a series of flanged rollers supporting said beams, slotted head caps adapted to rotatably and traversably support the spindles of the flanged rollers, vertically reciprocal plungers forming a mounting for the said head caps and flanged rollers, pivotal link and lever connection between said plungers and' a reciprocal shaft, said shaft and beams being linked to a synchronising cam operated-unit whereby the required cycle of intermittent lifting, traversing, lowering and return traverse motions of the mechanism is obtained.

5. A conveyer mechanism for furnaces and other apparatus, comprising, in combination, .a series of rollers forming a platform, a support for the rollers, guides for retaining the rollers.

against horizontal displacement, a movable beam extending beneath the rollers, and means for raising the beam to lift the rollers off said support, then moving the beam horizontally to rotate the rollers in their guides andthen lowering the beam to return the rollers to said support. I

JOHN FALLON. I 

